


The Dark Horse Keeps on Fighting

by Tabithian



Series: Light the Path [8]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2015-07-31
Packaged: 2018-04-12 04:55:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4466201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tabithian/pseuds/Tabithian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dick looks down at this kid, so, so young, glaring up at him.</p><p>“What did you just say?”</p><p>The kid, Jason, scowls, gets up in Dick's personal space. </p><p>“I said I know who you are,” Jason says, reaches up and draws the outline of a mask around his eyes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Dark Horse Keeps on Fighting

**Author's Note:**

> This is a combination of two different prompts from Anon and yozoraarashi for the Fortunes Fade AU.
> 
> Anon wanted to see Jason convincing Bruce to let him be Robin, and yozoraarashi wanted to see some of Dick's side of things in this AU. 
> 
> :D?

Dick looks down at this kid, so, so young, glaring up at him.

“What did you just say?”

The kid, Jason, scowls, gets up in Dick's personal space. 

“I said I know who you are,” Jason says, reaches up and draws the outline of a mask around his eyes. 

********

“God,” Jason says, looks around Dick's apartment. 

“Nice,” Dick says, watches the kid poke at things here and there, shoulders up around his ears. “Now, about - “

“He was right about this, _you_ ,” Jason mutters to himself, tugging at his hair. “The asshole knew.”

“What are you talking about?” Dick asks, because Jason's obviously getting frustrated – more so – and he has this look on his face and - 

“He fucking _knew_ ,” Jason snarls, throws something at Dick. 

Dick catches it easily, looks down and sees a small package with -

“Oh, yeah,” Jason says, crossing his arms over his chest. “Open it.”

\- Tim's handwriting.

It's been.

Not long enough, never long enough, but.

“Where did you get this?”

Jason smiles, humorless. 

“He had some kind of set up going, I guess. They told me when I asked,” Jason says indicating the logo on the side of the package with a careless wave of his hand, shrugs at the look Dick gives him.

“They held on to it while he sent regular payments, and when he didn't - “ Jason swallows hard, looks away. “When he didn't send the payment this time, they sent it to the address they had on record.”

Dick runs his fingers over the address, commits it to memory without thinking. “Yours?”

Jason looks at him.

“Open it,” he repeats. 

There's a piece of paper inside, along with what looks like some of Tim's old photographs and a file. 

“Read the damn letter,” Jason says, anger gone out of his voice. “It's for you anyway.”

Dick holds his gaze for a long moment, and set the package down on his coffee table. Carefully unfolds the paper and - 

It's.

It's a letter from _Tim_.

********

It's a _sorry I wasn't the Robin you were_ , a _sorry you have to read this, Dick, I'm so sorry please look after Bruce, you know how he gets_ , and _don't let Alfred pretend he's okay_ and _I'm sorry for everything_ , sorry, sorry, sorry, and _I met this kid, Dick. His name is Jason. I think you'd like him._

It's Tim talking to him through his letter the way they never did when Tim was – was alive, and that's.

God, Tim had tried, hadn't he? 

Dick's the one who kept pushing him away, angry at all the wrong things for too long. Making the mistake of thinking he had time to fix things between them, and now -

“Such an asshole,” Jason says, head in his hands. “I mean, I didn't know him that well, but this is just so him, you know?”

Dick looks up at Jason, this kid Tim had met somehow, made friends with. 

Trusted enough to give him this, pictures he'd taken before approaching Bruce, of _them_.

None of them are all that incriminating on their own, just the work of a very lucky individual to catch Batman and Robin out at night. 

But when you put them in a certain order, when Jason takes out another package with a different company logo on the side and slides more of Tim's photos into the mix - 

“Why would he send this to you?” Dick asks, even though he knows, remembers Bruce lamenting how damn sneaky Tim was, this little smile playing at the corner of his mouth.

Telling Dick how smart Tim was, so, so smart.

“Don't you know?" Jason asks with a hollow little laugh. “Batman needs a Robin.” 

********

“He left a letter for me too,” Jason says, on the drive to Gotham. Glares. “Manipulative asshole.”

Dick laughs, because of course Tim did.

Of course he did.

********

Dick watches Jason hand Bruce another letter, expression carefully neutral. Watches Bruce read it, expression darkening, and say, quiet, clear. _"No."_

And then he watches Jason stand up to Bruce. Laying out facts, one by one, the way Tim would have, and knows what Tim wrote in his letter to Jason.

Sees Bruce glaring and glaring and glaring, because he almost lost Dick, lost _Tim_ , and that will never hurt any less for both of them, knowing Tim _chose_ his death, putting Dick over himself, and.

“Bruce.”

Bruce's gaze snaps up, mouth an angry slash.

“He's right,” Dick says, and he doesn't think he's ever been this tired. 

(He doesn't know if he's talking about Jason, or Tim at the moment. Maybe both.) 

“You can't keep doing this.”

Can't keep going out there so _angry_. Letting anger and grief and loss drag him down night after night, punishing himself.

“Dick.”

“Oh my God, you're both so stupid,” Jason says, scowling at them. “How the hell did he ever put up with you?”

Bruce growls, and Jason.

Jason steps into his space, fearless.

“He was my friend too, okay?” Jason says, and that's anger and grief and loss in his voice. “I fucking get it, but how the hell is this anything he'd want you to be doing? You go out there and you scare the shit out of people – _everyone_ – now, not just the scumbags. Do you even realize what you're doing?”

Dick starts toward them, hand out because - 

“Get out.”

“Bruce - “

_”Now.”_

********

Dick keeps an eye on Jason after that, so he knows when Jason tries to steal the tires off the Batmobile.

Watches the scene play out from his perch on the fire escape.

Jason silently daring Bruce to _do something_ , lug wrench resting on his shoulder and one of the Batmobile's tires leaning against a dumpster.

Bruce glaring down at him, in fine form, and Jason.

“Hey,” Jason says, shit-eating grin on his face, and oh, God, Dick thinks he loves this kid, he really does, another thing Tim wasn't wrong about. “Nice night, yeah?”

********

“He's reckless,” Bruce says. “Cocky.”

Dick looks to where Jason is talking with Alfred, halting, uncertain, so painfully aware of his appearance next to Alfred, like he's the only one to ever feel like that. 

(Remembers Tim and his careful manners that had slowly given way to crooked little smiles and in-jokes with Alfred that even Dick never fully understood.)

“He doesn't take any of your crap, you mean,” Dick says, smiles when Bruce scowls at him. “Come on,” Dick says, pushes because this is what Tim wanted. ( _Planned_ for.)

Bruce.

Bruce closes his eyes, breathes long and slow.

“He was always ten steps ahead of everyone else,” Bruce murmurs, opens his eyes and shares a look with Dick, who's really only starting to understand.

Jason laughs, loud, at something Alfred's said and when they look over at him, it's obvious he wasn't expecting it either, eyes wide.

“How did he get past the security on that thing anyway?” Dick asks, hooking a thumb back at the Batmobile.

Bruce.

“I intend to find out,” Bruce says, which.

“Yeah?”

Bruce looks at him, and.

“You're going to help train him,” Bruce says.

“Well of course I am,” Dick says, swallows back regrets because this. 

Now is not the time for them, not with Jason looking at them warily, worried at the way they aren't arguing anymore, are getting along.

 _Smiling_ , or in Bruce's case not _not_ smiling.

“Wouldn't want to take it easy on him, now would I?”

********

Dick keeps Tim's letter in a lock box, tucked away with other regrets he can take out and look over from time to time, even though he has it memorized.

Hears Tim's voice in his head when he does, remembers that little twist to his mouth he'd get sometimes, self-conscious.

_Hey, Dick. Do me a favor and keep an eye on Jason for me, okay? He's a good kid, you really would like him._

Nearly blacked out, Tim scribbled over it so many times, _I think he'd make an amazing Robin._

That little laugh of his, the way he wouldn't quite look at Dick.

 _Look out for yourself too, okay? Don't blame yourself for any of this because I was stupid enough to get myself killed. Whatever happened, it's not your fault._

(Dick can never quite bring himself to believe that, somehow.)

**Author's Note:**

> *hands*


End file.
